Waterfowl Seasons Open Soon

From Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept.
Compiled by Murray Montgomery

The regular duck season opens in the South Zone on Sat., Nov. 4 and in the North Zone on Sat.,
Nov. 11. High Plains Mallard Management Unit opens for hunting Oct. 28-29, then it closes Nov 3.
The season for light and dark geese opens in both zones on Sat. Nov. 4.

The start of the season could prove challenging if drought conditions linger throughout Texas. But
timely cold fronts and significant rain could boost hunting prospects.
“Unfortunately, our duck hunters are looking at a very dry state of Texas currently,” said Waterfowl
Program Leader Kevin Kraai. “The exceptions are parts of deep South Texas and portions of the
Texas Panhandle that received good rainfall this summer.”

“Typically, when there is less water spread out across the landscape it concentrates birds in areas
where hunters tend to be waiting and hunting success increases,” said Kraai. “However, ducks will
be very intolerant of excessive disturbance and move on quickly after hunting begins if habitat
conditions don’t improve.”

We estimate that 1.06 million ducks were harvested last season. Texas hunters harvest more ducks
than the entire Atlantic Flyway and account for 54 percent of all the ducks harvested in the Central
Flyway.

Refer to Waterfowl in Texas <https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/game_management/waterfowl/?
utm_campaign=waterfowl23&utm_medium=email&utm_source=seasonopener> for recent waterfowl
surveys and the latest waterfowl information.

For more on this season’s forecast, see our press release Dry Conditions Could Pose Challenges for
Waterfowl Hunters This Season < https://tpwd.texas.gov/newsmedia/releases/?
req=20231019b&utm_campaign=waterfowl23&utm_medium=email&utm_source=seasonopener>.